


The Boy Who Cried Wolf

by CoyoteDeLaLune



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Death, OC, Old Friend, Original Character(s), Tears, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, descriptions of being torn apart, mauled by wolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2020-06-02 12:33:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19441549
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoyoteDeLaLune/pseuds/CoyoteDeLaLune
Summary: "The Boy Who Cried Wolf" is a well-known tale that parents tell their kids to keep them from lying. But Eleia, the spirit of wild animals, was friends with the boy that everyone has been warned they might become. This is the true story of the friend she once lost.





	The Boy Who Cried Wolf

There once was a boy that I knew very well. He was quite the prankster. One day he went running into his village in hysterics.

“Wolf!” he cried.

The mothers rushed their children inside and the men grabbed their weapons. With the boy in the lead, the mob rushed into the field where the wolf was said to be. The men came to a stop and looked around carefully for the four-legged beast. Then someone in the group started to giggle. All the men turned in and witnessed as the boy started to laugh at full force.

“You should have seen yourselves,” he cackled. “There is no wolf. You’re all so gullible.”

The men lowered their weapons and glared at the overly entertained boy. They turned back towards the village and grumbled the whole way home.

I watched from the forest with a blaze in my eye. When he had told me that he was going to pull a prank I laughed with anticipation, but I hadn’t been expecting this. This boy was sticking fear in the hearts of these villagers in the name of these wolves. And the village men decided to react with violence. The wolves of the forest had watched the scene as well. I had to hold them back. This was unjust, but I wouldn’t let them hurt him.

It was peaceful and normal for the rest of that week and the next. The boy came to me and told me he was going to pull another prank. I confronted him.

“I would prefer if you wouldn’t villainize these wolves.”

“Why?” He asked. “It’s harmless. No one got hurt. And people already see wolves as evil so  _ I _ didn’t villainize them.”

“But your pranks aren’t helping their name,” I exclaimed. “They are not here to hurt you.”

“Say that to this fresh wound,” the boy said while lifting his pant leg. He had spread jam on his leg in such a way that it looked like it had been mauled.

“I can’t promote you doing this,” I affirmed. 

“Whatever, I don’t need your support in this,” he stated while backing away. His eyes started to tear up. “I’ve done plenty of pranks without your help before. You can’t stop me.”

The boy looked at me one last time before running off toward the village. He was pulling his pant leg up to his knee as he got closer. I stared after him with tears of my own when I heard growls coming from behind me. I turned around and the wolves were also watching the boy as he turned to the village. I had to stand my ground. “I know what he’s doing is wrong but I can’t let you hurt him.”

The boy ran into the village with tears and crying bloody murder. “Wolf! In the field!”

There were groans from the villagers until a woman screamed. Everyone turned towards the source of the noise to see her pointing at the boy. All the men sprung into action, pushing their wives and children into the houses and running to grab a weapon. The men rushed to the field with a greater purpose than before. They looked around once again to the field to try and find the wolves. After a few minutes, a woman called to them from a distance.

“You all can come back,” she yelled. “You need to see this.”

The men made their way back to find the boy on the ground laughing in a ball.

“You all are too easy,” he said every other breath.

The men were seething at the boy. Everyone walked into their homes and slammed the doors shut tight. 

Another two weeks went by without another prank. The boy went out to the field to see Eleia. He knew she was mad at him but he still wanted to talk to her again. But when he got to the forest’s edge he was not greeted by his friend; in fact, he wasn’t greeted by a friend at all. Stalking out from behind the trees, the pack of angry wolves made their wrath known. The boy’s face fell and he slowly backed away. The alpha, who Eleia was always there to hold back, made one last warning growl before he lunged forward. 

The boy let out a scream and lunged out of the way. He got back onto his feet as fast as he could and bolted for the village. The boy was letting out blood-curdling screeches. The wolves were gaining on him and one got a nip out of his ankle. The boy faltered for a second before kicking the wolf in the jaw. He was almost in view of the village when he tripped. 

“WOLF! HELP ME PLEASE! THERE’S A WOLF!”

But no one came to the rescue. Not that time. The wolves finally gained on him and took no mercy. The boy’s screams were so high that it harmed the wolves’ ears. But still, no one came. And still, the wolves took their revenge. The pain was unthinkable, but, eventually, it stopped. There were no more screams, no more growling, and no more pain.

“And that’s the story of the boy who cried wolf,” a mother finished her story to her children. “It’s not good to lie because when you really need it, no one may come to help you.” 

The children were in tears. They ran up to their mother and gave her a hug. “We’ll never lie again, Momma.”

Eleia smiled at the children, glad they learned a lesson. But she soon floated away with a frown on her face. She left the familiar village and landed in the field. She walked the edge of the forest and knelt in front of a stone. Stuck to the stone was a wolf skull and below it was an engraving that read “May He Who Cried to Many Be a Lesson to All”.

Eleia lowered her head and placed a hand on the top of the skull. A breeze blew by and moved her hair to reveal tears streaming down her face. She finally let a sob escape her lungs and this made a path for many more. Eleia was left there to weep for a friend who was forgotten as a real person and remembered for the one flaw that caused his death.


End file.
